Aurora Avenue
North has long been the spine of Licton Springs, but its name and character
have changed dramatically. The route began as a rough wagon road, known
as the R.F. Morrow Road when it opened in 1901. At first, the route simply
ended at the King-Snohomish county line until development in north King
County and the interurban brought growth. The road was eventually extended,
making a more direct route to Everett than the old Bothell-Everett Highway.
Clusters of original buildings show where early businesses developed along
Morrow Road, at North 90th, 103rd and 105th streets.

In the 1920s-30s, Pacific Highway 1 was constructed along the Morrow Road
alignment, part of a national phenomenon of highway building to accommodate
the popularity of the automobile. A 1923 article described "The Pacific
Highway, the broad stretch of pavement, 700 miles in length at present and
1,600 miles when completed…the forerunner of great highways beyond the conception
of the present generation that will mark the nation like a great checkerboard
with its mass of highway arteries running in every direction and over which
will flow the traffic of the continent." (The Argus, 1923)

Completion
of the George Washington Memorial Bridge in 1932 and the Aurora "speedway"
through Woodland Park provided a fast link to downtown and made this the
region's major north-south highway. The segment north of downtown was
officially named Aurora Avenue after the street that it follows in Fremont.
Some say the name "Aurora" honored Aurora, Illinois, the hometown of Dr.
Edward Kilbourne, a Fremont founder. However, George Cotterill, former
city engineer, claimed that the name recognizes it as the highway to the
north, toward the aurora borealis.

Left,
the V Cafe, 9505 Aurora Ave.N., a World War II-era business (1943
photo). Above, an early gas station at 9541 Aurora Ave.N. (1938
photo).

Heavy auto-
and tourist-oriented development followed throughout the 1930s, and Aurora
Avenue became lined with auto-oriented businesses. Gas stations and auto
repair shops were among the first, beginning in the 1920s, along with
related businesses such as used car dealers and auto wrecking yards. Aurora's
heavy traffic and its location outside the city limits also made it a
natural place for cafes, taverns and dance halls.

The most
distinctive reminder of the early auto era is the motels, originally called
"tourist camps" or "auto courts." One of the earliest, the Klose-Inn Motel,
founded in 1930, is still operating, updated in appearance but retaining
its vintage neon sign. The Sun Hill Motel opened in 1938, and looks much
as it always did, with modernized windows and cladding.

After World
War II, people used cars for everyday trips as well as vacations, and
Aurora became the epitome of the auto culture, with drive-in restaurants
such as Burgermaster. Low-density auto camps and small buildings made
way for strip malls and large parking lots, transforming the street into
a new auto-oriented landscape. Today, the remaining older buildings, motels
and icons such as the elephant at the Aurora Flower Shop, are valuable
as reminders of Aurora's past.